One-Dish Pork Chops With Muffuletta Relish

Note: Looking for pork chops that are ultra-moist? Brine them for two hours in the refrigerator in a mixture of 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of kosher salt. When you're ready to cook them, just discard the brine, pat them dry with paper towels and proceed with the recipe.

About the author: Jennifer Olvera is a veteran food and travel writer and author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago." Follow her on Twitter @olverajennifer.

Procedures

1

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add red pepper, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add pepperoncini, oregano, vinegar, green olives, and black olives and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Return pan to the stove-top and heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in pan over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Add chops and cook without moving until well-seared on first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip chops, then top with muffuletta mixture and transfer to the oven to finish cooking. When pork chops are still rosy and juicy in the center (145°F for medium) remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and allow let for 10 minutes. Serve.

Print:

Filed Under:

About the Author

Jennifer Olvera is the author of Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago, and she has all-but tested and developed recipes since toddlehood. She writes the Sunday Supper column for Serious Eats and regularly contributes food features to Chicago Sun-Times. She can often be found tending her garden, canning and traveling to far-flung destinations, where she writes about local edibles for pubs like Los Angeles Times and Frommers.com.

Previewing your comment:

HTML Hints

Comment Guidelines

Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more in the Comment Policy section of our Terms of Use page.